Editorial: Rep. Massa was right -- POW deserves our support

Thursday

Jul 30, 2009 at 12:01 AMJul 30, 2009 at 11:38 PM

Fox News aired an interview on July 19 with Lt. Col. Ralph Peters, a “strategic analyst” for the network, about a video that surfaced of U.S. soldier Bowe Bergdahl. Pvt. Bergdahl, who was captured by the Taliban on June 30, described his fear that he’d never again tell his family he loved them, that he’d never hug them again. Peters, managing to appear both haughty and hawkish, denounced Bergdahl, calling him “an apparent deserter” and a liar, and he accused him of collaborating with the enemy. He went so far as to say the Taliban could save the United States “legal hassles and legal bills” by executing Bergdahl outright.

In the wake of the tributes and memorials last week honoring Walter Cronkite, it was none other than television news that dragged us back, unwillingly, into the present.

Fox News aired an interview on July 19 with Lt. Col. Ralph Peters, a “strategic analyst” for the network, about a video that surfaced of U.S. soldier Bowe Bergdahl. Pvt. Bergdahl, who was captured by the Taliban on June 30, described his fear that he’d never again tell his family he loved them, that he’d never hug them again. Bergdahl is by all accounts a hard-working, mild-mannered, thoughtful young man.

Yet Peters, managing to appear both haughty and hawkish, denounced Bergdahl, calling him “an apparent deserter” and a liar, and he accused him of collaborating with the enemy. He went so far as to say the Taliban could save the United States “legal hassles and legal bills” by executing Bergdahl outright. (The next day, he added this caveat: “I do hope for his family’s sake this guy comes back safely.” Characterizing that as “too little, too late” is an understatement.)

The interview, as well as a Peters appearance that followed on “The O’Reilly Factor,” was dismaying at best; to some, disgusting. Little is known about why or how Bergdahl
left his base camp, and it’s no time for speculation. Nor is it any time for punditry.

The TV appearances struck a nerve with 23 congressional veterans, including New York Rep. Eric Massa. Massa, a Navy veteran, was furious. He demanded an apology from Peters, Bill O’Reilly and Fox News. Further, he wanted both O’Reilly and Peters fired immediately for “their inexcusable attacks on a prisoner of war.” The military, he said, is doing all it can to free Bergdahl — as it should.

Yes, Massa’s declaration could be seen as political. Yes, Massa has something to gain by attacking a right-leaning network touting — incomprehensibly — a decidedly unpatriotic message.

But the freshman congressman’s pledge and outrage seem real. Certainly the provocation is more in line with the reaction than a recent similar incident: The call by New York Assembly Minority Leader Brian Kolb for CBS to fire “Late Show” host David Letterman for telling a tasteless joke about one of former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin’s daughters. The joke, for which Letterman had already apologized, may have been crass, but it didn’t wish violence on anyone.

Now’s not the time for a diatribe on the state of TV news. We know the times have changed since Cronkite reported the day’s happenings. But in the case of Bowe Bergdahl, Peters was way out of line. Judging from the outrage he sparked following the broadcasts, many Americans seem to agree.

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